The Raven at the Boundary
by ArashiGoddess
Summary: A happy-go-lucky girl, always cheerful and helpful to those who asked. Despite her tiny appearance, she can handle almost anyone and wouldn't hesitate to do so. "An eye for an eye. I wouldn't care if the world went blind, it was already blind in the first place." She was the opposite of him, he wanted to protect her. That proved to be difficult when her father is the cult's funder.
1. Chapter 1

_edit 7/30/2019: changed [above or in] to 'above'. the brackets were there so that i know which part of the chapter i need to edit for later._

_edit 8/1/2019: added a link to the art i made for a scene on here. just replace the * with dots and remove the spaces. also corrected some spelling errors._

* * *

_We moved to the Addison's Apartment when I had just turned thirteen years old._

_My mom wanted a new start. It was rough when Dad left after all and a fresh life at a new State seemed like a good idea at the time. The apartment would be smaller than our house but it would be more affordable. I wouldn't have to see Mom struggle to pay bills. And selling the house to get a smaller one with lesser upkeep is much smarter._

_I remember shrinking away from the view of the building when I first saw it but Mom promised that looks can be deceiving._

"_It'll be better once we're inside," she said._

_I was skeptical, but later that day, I found that she was right. The people I initially met were nice. They were… _weird,_ but they're nice. Of course, there was a few that weren't fond of me but that couldn't be helped._

_To be honest, I was just happy to talk and meet new people._

_Then, after two years, I was now fifteen and had just finished my first semester in high school._

_And for the first time in all those years, Addison's Apartment has new tenants._

* * *

I was on the verge of falling asleep on the couch, a show about two cups earning a debt with the devil vaguely playing in the t.v. I was barely listening, and my eyes were already closed when a loud rumble of an engine startled me awake.

"Wha-" I looked around blearily, wiping off the drool on the corner of my mouth and propping myself up on my elbows. Mom peeked at the window of our apartment, wiping her hands dry as the noise continued and came even closer.

"Oh, sweetie. I think we have a new neighbor." She called out and all of a sudden, all sleepiness from my body evaporated. In an instant, my face was pressed up against the window glass. And yes, I looked weird to whoever was outside.

But this was what I have been waiting for in a long while. The people here in the apartments are cool and all but I wanted to see a new face. This was my chance for my wish to come true.

My eyes sparkled as I tried to get a glimpse of whoever it was that was to be our new neighbors. "Really!?" I didn't get to see much, though. My breath fogged up the window too fast.

Mom rolled her eyes at me and ushered me away from the window. When she spoke, it was laced with sarcasm. Good ol' Mom. "It's exciting, I know. But we'll meet them later. Take a shower first then clean up your blanket from the couch and bring it to your room."

Grinning, I was off to skip towards my room to prepare (also grabbed the blanket, mustn't forget that).

After I closed my door, my mom watched the people outside with a hand in her waist. She was a little interested in these new neighbors of theirs. It was announced last Saturday at the mandatory meeting that some people would be moving in two doors down from theirs.

_They moved in at the wrong time._ She looked at the wall that separated our apartment from the one on the other side. There was a rosary hanging from a nail, the sole decoration in the otherwise big empty space.

_Poor Mrs. Sanderson._

* * *

I set down the brush and pulled the top part of my hair into a ponytail. Then after pulling on my hooded jacket, I was set to go.

Standing up and petting my Mr. Clover on the way, I poked my head out of my room. "Mom! I'm ready!"

There were clanging in the kitchen and I can see the top of her hair from behind the island. "H-Hold on. There's a problem with the lasagna. I think it's under cooked still." She stood up and took off her kitchen mitts. "You should go first. I'll make my way there later."

_Aw… I was hoping to get invited to eat that lasagna._

"Okay." A little bummed, I made my way to the door. "I'll be heading out then." Before I could open it fully though, she stopped.

"Hey, sweetie?"

I paused and looked back at her; her worried expression reflecting back at me. "…yeah?"

"Steer clear of Mrs. Sanderson's apartment." She was serious. And from the frown in her face, this was something I wouldn't want to disobey. Not that I needed the warning. I knew to steer clear of that room. I wouldn't want to go back in there after what happened to her.

It was… too much to bear.

"I know." I smiled slightly. "I'll be safe."

She mirrored my smile. "Love you, sweetie."

"Right back at you."

And then, I was out the door and in the hallway.

The new neighbors were somewhere in the building but I had no idea where. So I might have to adventure a little bit to find out.

Speaking of which, there was a new, meaner looking cop standing guard by 403; Mrs. Sanderson's apartment. He side-eyed me as I walked past. But other than that, he didn't nod back at me.

Ignoring the man for now, I headed towards the elevator.

_First up: finding the new tenants._

Pressing the down button on the elevator, I waited as it stayed for a bit on the first floor before gradually going upwards to where I was. And since I didn't know where to start, I figured the basement would be a good place to search (if there was even the off chance that they had a key card already).

I might even get Larry to come help me search but that depends really if he was up to it. We… haven't really spoken much for months now. He had slowly grown reclusive over the years and I was nervous about whether he'd be willing to stay friends with me since it had been so long. But it was worth the try, right?

So when the elevator came around, I entered and inserted my key card into the slot.

* * *

I made it down and for the moment, I was stuck in front of the vending machine. I thought it'll be a good idea to bring with me some snacks. Like an offering of sorts to get Larry to help me but I didn't know which one to buy.

I have money on me and I _could _buy a bit of everything but from what I remember, he didn't like some of these. Especially the really sweet ones.

_Eh, I guess I could just eat them instead._

With that thought, I proceeded to insert some bills and push buttons. It wasn't long before my feet were pooling with plastic-covered junk food and I faced with another dilemma.

_How the heck am I supposed to carry all of these?_

I crouched down and tried to fit as much as I could on my arms. But there was still an armful left around my feet. I contemplated dumping the ones I'm carrying to Larry's room or just be lazy and still try and make it a one-way trip to his room.

I glanced at the door beside me, B01 was etched on a metal plate above the door.

Just I was about to walk towards it, giving up on trying to carry all the peace-offerings, the elevator on my other side sounded with a clear 'Ding!'

I paused and turned, sure that it was Lisa (or maybe Chug) and said "Lisa, can I get some help with this? I'm gonna try and make Larry help me with-"

_[__arashi-goddess*tumblr*com/post/186694486385/]_

I cut off my own words when I saw a stranger standing in place of who I thought was the older woman. Instead, there was a girl with blue pigtails and an eerie off-white mask set in a neutral expression.

"Oh… um…"

She didn't say anything, instead just stared at me like I was studying her. She's wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and red jeans that are ripped at the knees. She's also wearing blue sneakers and two black earrings on either ears. Then looking closer at the holes where here eyes are, I can see blues looking back at me.

"It's rude to stare." She said, her voice sounding a little deeper than I had imagined.

Face flushing, I scratched my cheek and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. It's just that you look a little weird that I couldn't help it. I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's fine." She shook her head and I smiled at her.

I offered my hand at her, sacrificing a quite a few snacks that fell off from my hold. "I'm Eleanor Wright. I live in 404 with my mom. You can call me Ellie!"

She tentatively took my hand in hers and shook them.

"I'm Sally. Sally Face. Nice to meet you Ellie."

I grinned. "And same to you!" Pausing, I tilted my head at her. _Wait… is she one of the new neighbors? _"Say, you don't happen to be the new ones here?"

She blinked. "Oh, yeah. I am. I live with my dad at 402."

"We're floor neighbors!" If my hands weren't full, I absolutely would've clapped. Looks like I didn't have to look after all. My money's gone to waste but I could still bring it with me and visit Larry, even if I don't have a reason anymore other than that I wanted to hang out for the first time in awhile.

With that, I bent down to grab what I previously dropped. "Sally, can you help me carry some of these? I'll introduce you to Larry if you do."

"Sure, why not?" She crouched down beside me and grabbed the cookies and potato chips. Her hands ended up fuller than mine was. She stared at it for a bit while I remembered pockets exists and my hoodies had them. "These are a lot of snacks."

"I'm bringing them to Larry. We haven't spoken for bit and I wanted to bring gifts when I come." I answered, stuffing my pockets with some of the smaller packs of candies. "Do you have pockets Sally? Want me to put some of yours on them?"

Now that I was standing beside her, Sally is actually a little taller than I am, huh?

"No, I'm fine." She shook her head. "You know Larry?"

I smiled, nodding my head. "He's my first friend when we first moved here. He also goes to the same school as I do so we're pretty close. But… like I've said, I haven't seen him in a while." My smile being tainted by gloom on the edges, I looked down.

It definitely was a long while though. Now that I was here and intend on speaking to him again, somehow, I feel a little nervous. Sally must've came down here to speak to Larry too so with her around, maybe I could make my nerves settle for a little bit.

"…I see." She muttered before changing the subject, "How long have you been living here?"

I looked up, counting the number of birthdays I've had on my fingers ever since we moved. "Uhh… probably about two years. Give or take a few months that is."

"And you're going to which school?"

I gave him the peace sign. "Nockfell High."

"Sweet. Same with me!"

I laughed at her eager tone. "Let's be friends, yeah?"

"Sure!"

If she wasn't wearing her mask, I definitely would've seen her smiling widely. But looking closely, I _could _see her eyes crinkling in the corners so that was enough indication in of itself.

"Also," She held up a pack of chips in one hand and showed it to me. "Can I have this?"

"Pfft- only if you don't tell Larry I gave you one of his gifts."

A comfortable silence washed over us after that. Though it must've just been me because Sally seemed to turn a little serious. She looked like she wanted to say something.

"Sally?"

She looked back at me after setting her sights on the floor and she asked, "What's up with 403?"

My breath got caught in my throat. "Oh… Mrs. Sanderson." My smile turned into a frown and I hugged the snacks closer to myself, making an audible crinkling sound in the process. "It was horrible. She was killed."

"Killed?" Sally's tone was tinged with surprised and a little bit of disgust. "What happened? Where were you?"

"I was out with my mom. When we came back last night, there was an uproar in the apartments, and it was found that she was killed. By who, we didn't know."

I still remember mom crying about our neighbor. She was a good person. A little quirky on the side but she was really nice. She used to go over and just chat with me and mom and that made the two close together. Bring in Lisa and you have three best friends just having fun.

Mom wanted leave the apartment when she found out but we didn't have enough money to last us in an inn before we could find a new place so… we decided to just stay. She figured that Lisa needed her like she did to the woman and the two of them are all of that's left of the three.

And she was also thinking about me. I was spooked with what happened but I didn't want to leave. Not when I had just started seeing the place as my home.

"Mom wanted to leave this place but a lot of things are holding as back, like me and Larry's mom so we decided to stay." I continued, coming back from my thoughts.

Sally made a low hum at that, to show that she was still listening. "It's okay, Ellie. I can feel that you were close to Mrs. Sanderson too but there's no need to keep on thinking about it. Everyone passes on, whether with their own volition or not." I stared at her as she spoke, getting the feeling that she's a lot more mature than I am. "Just… continue on living. And make it your best life so when the time comes for you too, you won't be regretting anything."

Slowly, I smiled little by little, finding comfort in her words.

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Sally."

"…You're welcome, Ellie."

* * *

A/N: _New story again! First time writing for Sally Face and I'm trying to write shorter chapters for this one. My main stories are about 5k words each chapter and this one would be half of that. This is just a little light-hearted comedy story to soothe my angst filled heart and… yeah._

_Hope you enjoy and tell me what you think about this one!_


	2. Chapter 2

With some difficultly, I managed to open the door to Larry and Lisa's apartment. I haven't been there in awhile but it still looked just the same as ever.

There's still the pictures of him and his mom hanging on the walls, the same old couch, the same old pizza in the side table (probably forever etched into it at this point), and the same old smell.

It's… nice to be back.

Pushing the door open further with my shoulder, I motioned for Sally to get in.

"Sally."

She tilted her head at me. "Ellie."

I laughed slightly. "Come in, we'll head to Larry's room." She did so and did a bit of looking around herself as I knocked on the door to said room.

"Larry?" I tentatively called out, and it took him a bit to answer.

"Yeah, Ellie?"

I scratched my cheek, not sure how to answer now. "Uhh… well I came to visit? I have snacks and stuff." I glanced at Sally as she watched me talk. She… didn't look like she wanted to intervene and I was okay with that. But I did say that I was gonna introduce her to Larry so I at least wanted to do that.

"You can come in."

_[__arashi-goddess*tumblr*com/post/186745899735/__]_

Taking that as her cue, Sally went over and let me go in first. Once I was inside, I was careful to get her outside of the guy's view just so I have time to introduce her.

I grinned at Larry from across the room and he looked up from the CDs he was shuffling through by his stereo. "Oh, _yo_. You brought a lot. Did you just buy everything in the vending machine?"

"I did."

"You're crazy, dude." Despite the slight disbelief in his voice, there was a small smile tinging his face. He shook head and turned his body to face me, placing his hands in his pockets. "But seriously, I missed you a little."

I feigned a pout. "Only a little?"

"Don't push it. We haven't talked in a bit."

I let out a laugh. "Fair."

From behind me, Sally pushed on my back a little, keeping her voice to a low whisper. "You two seem really close."

I directed a small smile at her, and whispered, "Yeah. He's a good friend to have."

"Friend…" she muttered peeking over my shoulders to look at Larry who was… _looking at her as well._

"You brought someone over?" He asked and Sally stepped out from behind me.

"I'm Sally. Sally Face. Lisa told me to come meet you and Ellie said she'll introduce me." She explained and I couldn't help but notice how calm she was when meeting someone new. It's the opposite with me but when someone talks to me first, I'll start going off and all. But Sally… well, she seems to always be calm.

"And Ellie did good. Nice mask by the way." He complimented, walking towards us and we met him halfway.

"…thanks. It's a prosthetic."

I blinked in surprised, Larry doing the same as he took the snacks off of my hold. His mouth was hanging open a little too.

_I thought she was wearing it just for the heck of it but..._

"Oh shit, sorry, dude."

Sally shook her head. "It's fine. I'm used to much worse by now. So I'm glad you like it."

"Is that why you're 'Sally Face'?" Larry slowly worded out and she shrugged.

"I figured if I owned the name, the assholes wouldn't be able to use it against me."

I mentally applaused her for that. "Smart thinking."

"Ha. I like you, Sal. You're pretty complicated. We're gonna get along great." He grinned.

She gave him a look, amused. "Thanks. That's what your Mom said too."

"Mother knows best."

Scratching the back of his head, Larry had a conflicted expression on his face. It looked like he was deciding whether to ask about it or not. He didn't take long to decide though.

"Sorry to ask but, what the _hell _happened?"

It took the masked girl to answer and when she did, it was with finality in her tone. "I don't want to talk about it."

Larry and I shared a look and we decided to leave it at that. She just moved here and maybe her and her dad might be here for a while. There would be another time to ask about it, likely when we're all closer and such.

"Uhh… okay take a seat somewhere you two. And Sally, you can just put those over there by the table." He motioned to the small rickety coffee table he had on the room while I made myself comfortable on the couch, sitting with my legs crisscrossed.

The other girl obliged and placed the snacks she was holding down with the others that I brought. With the amount of the junk food, it easily covered the magazines and the sketchbook littering the table.

"The chips are mine." She commented as she grabbed the bag, fully claiming it as hers and Larry waved her off.

"Sure, sure. Ellie's always like this when she comes over. And I know that vending machine like the back of my hand."

She sat down by me and tilted her head. "How long have you lived here, Larry?"

"Ever since I was little, dude." He answered, glancing over his shoulders before turning back to choosing a CD he'd like to listen to. "Mom and I moved here with dad and I've been here since then."

Sally ripped open the chips and set it by her lap. "But why the basement?" She inquired and I answered,

"It's their bat cave."

If I could see her face, I imagined she would've raised a brow at me. "Bat cave?"

Larry shrugged. "Mom said it's because we gotta guard the place from rats but I'm pretty sure it's because we get this place rent free with the whole maintenance gig. But it's pretty cool though, I get to listen to music as loud as I want when she's not around."

"Oh _nice."_

"Hence the bat cave thing." Him and I both laughed at that. "Hey, Ellie, pass me that sour candy."

"Sure. Hold on." Sally handed it to me and I tossed it to the guy, him catching it flawlessly as usual.

"Thanks." He opened it and chewed on some. "Anything you want to listen to?"

I shook my head, reaching over to grab a handful of chips from Sally. "I'm good. You know I'm not too into those—_Sally, share."_

She made it a point to take the bag further away from my reach. "There's like two other chips there."

"Dude's got a point." I gave her a scowl as Larry laughed loudly.

Quickly making a distraction, Sally changed the subject. "Hey, I like your shirt Larry." She complimented, mentioning the tan shirt the guy was wearing with the initials S and F printed on it.

He held back a laugh. "Thanks. It's stands for… _Sally Face. _Heh."

She snorted and said sarcastically, "Well, I _do _have my own clothing line."

Larry rolled his eyes in response, a lazy grin on his face as he waved a particular CD where the same initials are there. Except this one had the full name of the band.

"It's actually for this metal band called Sanity's Fall." He paused for a moment before asking, "Hey, do you like metal?"

Sally thought it over herself, unsure. "Hm… I don't know."

I, myself, don't like it. It's not my taste and I'm more into some mellow stuff but I just let Larry do him. There _are_ some of his songs that I like but that's only because the lyrics are actually good. My own crappily made ones are shit compared to those.

Larry looked excited at the prospect of introducing metal to someone. "Oh that's _got _to change. Check out this song." He took a CD case from the rack beside his stereo, already knowing where it is like the back of his hand and he proceeded to insert it to said stereo and played it. "It's their first single. The full album comes out in a few months."

The song started playing starting off smoothly until all hell broke loose. The taller of the two started headbanging, his long that he grew out specifically for that purpose was almost slapping Sally. I was watching her to see how she'll react to it. After all, Larry gets to decide whether he'll be friends with them depending on that (people tend to put him as a Satanist, all the time). So when Sally started joining him, I already knew they'll be great friends.

I started laughing, watching them go ham. They look like they're having fun.

I was one of the first people Larry made to listen to that song. And like I said, he judged whether I was friend-worthy or not because of it. I didn't like it so we didn't get that along until about a year ago when our friendship blossomed. The older ladies at church were telling Lisa to watch over Larry closely as it was 'possible that he is a worshipper of the devil,' _all because of his music tastes._

I didn't like the songs, but I hated that people just assume things like that. The times that Larry and I hung out, he was the friendliest I've met. Added with the fact that I have a big mouth, I had no trouble speaking my mind too and telling them off for it.

I got in trouble for it but I didn't regret it. Afterwards, him and I started to talk more then here we are.

We haven't spoken to each other lately so getting to spend time like this, especially with a new friend… well, _it was nice._

The joined in laughing and Larry turned the volume down a notch. He wasn't about to turn it off now that he had the CD in there, but he would make it so that we all could at least have a decent conversation. They headed towards where I was sitting, grinning at them.

"That was awesome."

"Ha! Converted you!" Larry said with a wide smile, definitely proud that he found someone who liked the same things as him.

"Cute." I commented from the side as Sal sat beside me with Larry settling down on the other side of the coffee table. The latter rolled his eyes at me.

"Ha ha." He mocked but that only made me laugh.

Then, we slowly shifted into silence. Just us three enjoying each other's company and digging in at the snacks. The masked girl took her previously abandoned chips and finally opened it while Larry went for the Skittles. We just stayed like that for a while, the song playing in the background, and making small talk. Him and I took it upon ourselves to properly catch up on what was going on during that.

And then… Sally broke the silence.

"What happened at 403?"

I saw Larry visibly freeze from that question and I had this small feeling of dread in me. "Larry?" I called out worriedly to him and he turned his head to look between me and the other girl.

He didn't say anything for a bit before he hurriedly stood up and went to his speakers, turning the volume up again. I scrunched up my eyebrows as the speakers blared.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Sally yelled over the noise and Larry looked at his door wearily. Whatever it is that he was about to tell us, it was obvious he doesn't want anyone listening in.

He then answered,

"_I know who killed Mrs. Sanderson!"_

…

An uncomfortable silence washed over us. Looking over at Sally, I can tell that she and I had different thoughts running through our head, both weighing the truth in Larry's claim. It was kind of hard to believe that someone would be a witness to a murder like that but even if I used that excuse to not believe what I just heard, my gut was telling me otherwise. So I kept my mouth shut.

The other girl on the room meanwhile, didn't hesitate to do the opposite.

"How do you know that?" From the eyeholes in her eyes, I saw her eyes narrow in suspicion. _"Are you high?" _She asked dubiously. It wasn't really uncommon for Larry to be going off in lala land at times but he looked too sober to be bull-shitting us. The dread I was already feeling heightened.

"Nah, dude." The latter scratched the back of his exasperatedly. "I wish I was. That was so _fucked."_

I stared at him, worry clearly showing on my face. _What the heck happened? _Mrs. Sanderson's death happened just yesterday. I wondered if I had known sooner if I had come to him sooner. Now that I think about it, if Sally hadn't moved in today, I wouldn't even have a reason to see him.

"What happened?" I asked over the loud song and Larry recounted the events that happened that night.

He was asked to help with the toilet by Mrs. Sanderson. When he had been in the bathroom working on it, he suddenly heard the door burst open and someone yelling, "You stupid bitch!" followed by the woman screaming. When he had peeked through the crack in the door, he saw a familiar man stabbing the woman.

Larry's face was filled with disgust. I couldn't blame. I was feeling sick as well. "He was wearing gloves, but I was sure it was him."

Sally, who was silent up until this point spoke up. "You know who did it?"

At that, Larry hesitated. It looked like he was contemplating whether to tell us or not, but it didn't take him more than a few moments to decide that it was better if more people knew rather than just by himself.

He took in a deep breath before letting it out in one sigh. He didn't say it out loud so Sally and I didn't get to hear it but his lips' movements along was enough for us to understood.

"…**Charley?"**

* * *

A/N: _Second chapter! This took awhile and I'm sorry but I was trying to pre-write chapters for all my other stories so update comes at once a month. Though I might change that soon and just keep updating this since it's only two thousand words per. Maybe at once a week? Also, I draw too so if you guys wanna check out the links I've placed in this chapter and on future ones, just replace the * with dots and you should be good._

_This arc actually ends at Chapter 4 so the ones after that would be a bit slice of life and goes to explain some stuff about Ellie and a bit more into her relationship with Larry._

_I hope you enjoyed and see you next time!_


	3. Chapter 3

_note: check out the link for the drawing in this chapter by replacing the * with a dot._

* * *

_[fav*me/ddpfkq8]_

"Charley?" I looked at Larry in shock.

Sally, now alarmed, turned tense. She then turned to me. "Did you know too?"

I hurriedly shook my head. "I-I… I only know about it now. Both him and Mrs. Sanderson were always comparing their collection with each other. But I don't know if that was enough for Charley to even wanna murder someone else about it."

Turning to the taller guy, "Would he, though?"

"He definitely would. He accused me of stealing his snacks one time." Larry's face turned to a sneer. "Fucking fatty."

Sally nodded her head, as if what she had heard was enough. She went over to his speakers and turned the volume down. "The loud noise might just be more suspicious than if we just talked with our voice down." Was her explanation before she craned her head back up to Larry. "Have you told the cops yet?" she asked and he nodded his head, his hair swaying with his movement.

"I did. But they just waved me off. As if my words alone weren't enough." He rolled his eyes at that last part.

"We need some kind of evidence to prove that he did it. When we do, there's no chance they'll look away this time." I piped up, going up into a stand so I could go closer to the two.

"That's right. But we need a plan first. We can't just go anywhere willy-nilly without one. Especially since he's still on the loose and the cops had no idea the killer is here." She agreed.

Larry, on the other while, was staring at the two of us dubiously. "Wait… You actually _believe _me?" He sounded skeptical and I couldn't help but find that funny for some reason.

"Duh!" I gave his shoulder a little playful punch. "Of course, I believe you! Charley is… well, he's always kind of been a bit unnerving to me. And now that I thought about it, Mrs. Sanderson was someone he considered an enemy. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually did it."

"Same with me." Sally spoke from my other side. "You're a good person Larry. I saw in your eyes genuine emotions. That was enough for me to know you weren't lying."

Sometimes, Larry can get a little bit intimidating due to his height and overall appearance. But I also learned that even someone like that can be touched at times too.

"Thanks, you guys."

I grinned at him and response while Sally's eyes crinkled at the corners, indicating that she did the same.

"By the way, what's up with the guy at 103?" She suddenly asked.

I tilted my head. _That was Mr. Addison, right? _"He's the owner of this building. He's a bit shy, ain't he?"

"..well, it seems that it was more than just 'a bit' shy."

"Yeah, he never leaves his apartment anymore." Larry said, shifting from one foot to another and scratching the back of his head. "He used to go outside but not anymore. He's always just locked up in there."

Suddenly, I was reminded of the very particular hobby of our landlord. I raised my hand in the air enthusiastically. "Oh, he makes such amazing tea!"

Sally blinked at that while the other rolled his eyes. He was all too familiar with me and my obsession with the tea.

Well, I'm not _that _obsessed but I just really like it. Even when mom and I headed down to the nearby café to hang out, their teas didn't really compare with the ones Mr. Addison makes.

"They're so good. You should try it sometime, Sally."

She was silent for a moment before she nodded. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." Pausing, she then added, "Do you like those?"

"She does. But don't get too attached to the stuff, though, dude. It's _addicting."_

"It's only _slightly _addicting."

"Yeah sure, Ms. I can't live without Addison tea."

He was punched for that and he winced. I can somehow tell that the girl was amused by us. She then shook her head and the serious atmosphere was back.

"Okay, game plan."

Larry and I straightened up, ready to listen to whatever plan it was that she had in store for us. In our little town, there was barely anything fun to do. As fucked as the reasoning may be for it, I was actually a little hyped to be in on this. And looking over at the tall guy beside me, I can tell that he felt the same way.

* * *

"Your beard looks so weird!" I said loudly with a laugh, watching as the mean officer guarding Mrs. Sanderson's apartment turned red from anger.

"_What did you say?"_

"Exactly as that."

This was my part in the plan. Distract the officer. I don't know about you all, but I was doing a pretty good job. People tend to tell me I was somewhat of an expert when it comes to irritating someone.

But for what reason? Well, it was to have the chance for Sally to slip by unnoticed and head to my apartment. I think it was to check something, as she had said, but I don't really know what else is there to see our home. Maybe it was to talk to Mom or something?

Having the cop guarding the apartment next to ours makes it nearly impossible to go through unless you really lived where my Mom and I was. Heck, I remember getting questioned for hours on end last night by the same guy that I was currently annoying. I didn't get enough sleep and it was such a disaster for me. It was a good thing that it was currently our break from school or else I wouldn't have been so nice as I currently was.

"Where's you even get that kind of style? The 30's? Don't worry, I can tell. I'm an expert when it comes to old people hairstyle. Trust me. You'd want my opinion on this stuff."

"LISTEN HERE, _GIRL-_"

Yup. You don't want me any meaner than I already am.

"You're so mean, Mustache Guy." I commented off-handedly, momentarily distracted when Sally brushed past the two of us. If I hadn't been looking out for her, I wouldn't have even seen her go by. She walked as if it was a normal day and she was just heading to school. She's kind of like a ghost.

Seeing me staring at something, the officer quickly turned his head to look and I quickly yelled in panic,

"_SPIDER!"_

"_WHAT WHERE!?"_

I feigned jumping around and being squeamish, making it look like I was afraid of the invisible eight-legged creature of Satan when, in reality, there was no such thing. To be fair though, the cop was more afraid of the 'spider' than I was and that was such an amusing thing to witness.

While I was busy, I caught sight of Sally looking over at us from where she was, half-way through our door, having only just opened it. She looked mildly concerned and I gestured for her to go while the cop still had his back towards the both of us. She nodded her head, then entered the Hall/Wright humble abode.

As soon as she was gone, I calmly turned to the still panicking man beside me and flatly said,

"Oh, it was just a dust bunny."

Then, I walked away as if nothing happened. In my wake was the mean cop, his mouth agape before his face turned red and he yelled out,

"WHAT THE HELL!"

I started running for the elevator (which was conveniently open) and I started pressing the close button rapidly while trying to insert the key card so that I could go down to the Johnson's home. It wasn't closing and I realized it was because of a strip of duck-tape that was placed on top of the 'open doors' button. Ripping it away, the doors finally closed and bangs soon followed as the elevator started descending. I'm pretty sure insults and swears were thrown by the pissed off cop but I wasn't too sure.

The sweet humming sound of the elevator and my gleeful laughter drowned it out.

* * *

_DING!_

The door of the elevator opened, and I headed out. The next part of the plan I actually have no need to do anything, it was all up to Larry to carry on.

What he was supposed to do was use the radio he had and make a fake dispatch call to the specific unit of the officers that was inside the Addison Apartments. It was originally going to be about a bank robbery thing but Sally suggested that we switch it to a gas station robbery instead, just to be a little more realistic. Then, once the coast is clear, Sally would head inside Mrs. Sanderson's unit to look for clues.

We just need something that showed that it was Charlie who did the murder, that was all we needed and we can be done with this incident once and for all.

Once I had gotten inside Larry's room (I didn't want to head anywhere else on the building in fear that the cop from before might just give me a piece of his mind), he gave a wave from where he was casually sprawled on his bean bag.

"Hey." I greeted and he greeted back with a "Hey" too.

We were silent for a moment, both of us unsure of what to say to each other, when Sally's voice filtered through from the walkie talkie that the guy left in on his drawer.

"_Larry Face."_

We both exhaled relieved sighs that neither one of us noticed. Larry picked up his walkie talkie.

"Sally Face. I'm here. What's up?"

"_Can you call in the report?"_

Larry straightened up his way of sitting, brushing his hair out of his face from when he had rose too quickly. "You ready, dude?" He asked, and I started becoming nervous for some reason.

_Weird. I wasn't like this back when I was messing with the mustache guy._

I was a little confused, but whatever it is, I decided to think about it later.

"_Yeah. Whatever it is that Ellie did, this bastard looks pissed off."_

That statement from the girl alone made me all the more nervous and I scratched my chin sheepishly.

"Heh." Larry sent a smirk in my way and I blinked innocently back, mouthing,

'_I did nothing.'_

He rolled his eyes and mouthed back, _'Sure.'_ I thought he was going to leave it at that but boy, I was wrong.

"What'd she do?"

"…"

Sally didn't answer for a bit before she chuckled slightly. Apparently, the dumb stuff I did was amusing to her as it did to me. I expected her to comment on it but there was only the familiar click of the walkie talkie… _and then silence._

Larry groaned and he sent the girl one last message.

"Real funny, dude."

_CLICK!_

He then stood up and walked past me to get to his radio. I turned and watched him pick up the microphone from it and put it near his lips. Hunched over his own dresser, staring at his himself from the mirror for a bit, he averted his gaze and started his part of the plan.

"All dispatches report to Maple Leaf Street. There's a call come in about a robbery on the gas station. I repeat, all dispatches report to Maple Leaf Street. There's a call come in about a robbery on the gas station."

With his voice droning on unemotionally like that, it really seemed like he was made for the job of being a cop himself. Never mind the long hair and the obsession with the metal band Sanity's Fall, of course. I sat down on the bean bag he previously occupied and listened as a response came in.

"_Dispatch 27B, Officer Durley and Officer Sanderson reporting to the scene now."_

_CLICK!_

It took a bit of time but afterwards, we heard some shuffling from upstairs, a door closing, and then silence. There was the faint sound of a siren in the distance, but we didn't need to hear it to know that we succeeded in getting rid of the two police men.

Once again, we exhaled sighs of relief.

Larry turned to me, a hint of worry showing on his usually uncaring face. "It's up to Sally now. Let's hope things go well."

I smiled slightly, also worried. Whatever it is that Sally finds, I hope she wouldn't be too affected. Even when I had not seen Mrs. Sanderson myself, the sight of the blood from last night was… too much. I didn't want to see the horrible corpse of the person I once thought of as my aunt.

The new girl was a stranger to all of us (in the friends' zone now with me and Larry) but that was more especially true for her and the late woman.

_I hope she'll be okay in there._

* * *

Unbeknownst to her, Sally was beyond okay and was standing in front of a woman smiling at him. There was a large gash on her throat, and it was still pouring blood as if it was just cut moments ago.

A voice sounded but her lips didn't move. Instead, her wound acted as her means of speaking to the fifteen-year old.

"**Hello, and who might you be?"**

Sally nearly dropped the walkie talkie that he held.

_Holy shit._

* * *

A/N: _Hello! So it's been awhile, I know. I've actually been sitting around with two chapters already done but I wanted to at least have a drawing for each chapter. I didn't get to make one for this chapter until now 'cause I had gotten busy and forgot about it;;_

_I'm sorry!_

_On another note, I coloured the drawing differently in this chapter so it looks better than the last two I made~_

_Hope you had fun reading this one! I'll try and have a new chapter posted soon but I have a drawing I have to finish before working on chapter four's so please bear with me._


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